The Problems With Being a Muggle
by MemberOfDumbledoresArmy
Summary: Leona Sands was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Attacked by Dark Wizards in a dark alley, she finds herself thrust into a world of magic where good and evil fight just like in fairy tales. Struggling to deal with the attack, her only form of comfort is Albus Potter. How will Leona cope with all of the problems of being a muggle? AP/OC RW/SM.
1. Muggle

**A/N: The idea for this story came to me randomly as I thought about what would happen to Dark Wizards in the Next Generation. Please tell me what you think. As always when I start a story, if this is awful or you don't like the plot, let me know and I can scrap it. Oppositely, if you like it you can let me know that as well!**

**This story is rated M for violence, attempted rape, substance abuse, and sexual content.**

**Yours,**

**MofDA**

…**.**

I stepped out of my house and pulled the scarf a little tighter around my neck. It was cold out for late October. I walked quietly through the dark streets, my way guided by the light from the lampposts. The crunch of dead leaves under my feet was the only sound that could be heard.

Despite the sinister sounding start of my story, my destination was innocent. My best friend's boyfriend had just broken up with her. I had snuck out of my house in the middle of the night to go comfort her. When you were seventeen and in love, heartbreak was just about the worst thing you could imagine happening.

Unfortunately, her house was a distance away from mine. A good twenty-five minute walk. However, if I took the short cut through the alley it would save me ten minutes. Ten minutes of being out in the frigid air and dark night. If it was daylight, I wouldn't hesitate to take the shortcut. But at night, you never know who you might encounter down there.

When I reached the place where I had to make my decision, I glanced up at the hospital to my right, feeling safe in front of the busy building, and then I peeked down the black alley. Groaning in frustration, I turned my feet in that direction and set off at a quick pace down the alley. '_Keep your head down, Le_' I told myself as I marched bravely toward Willow's house.

That was when I heard the gruff voice from the shadows, "Are you a muggle, girl?" I ignored him, hoping foolishly that he wasn't talking to me anyway. I walked faster, almost running. A large hand wrapped around my wrist and spun me around to face him. There were three boys who didn't look much older than me.

Two of them I would have considered quite handsome if they weren't leering at me the way they were. It was one of the handsome ones who had hold of me. I tried to pull away from his grip, but it was useless. "Let me go," my voice was steady, confident, much more than I actually felt.

"My friend asked you a question," this boy's voice was smooth as silk. A gentle caress in the darkness that engulfed the four of us. It disgusted me to my core. It was too sweet. I glared but said nothing. He repeated the question the other boy had asked, "Are you a muggle?"

"I don't even know what that is," I said, hoping this was the right answer. Obviously these boys were looking for a _muggle _and as I didn't even know what that was I surely wasn't one.

The third boy who hadn't spoken yet laughed and pulled a long thin piece of wood from his pocket. Two of the boys were wearing old fashioned cloaks like you see in movies. The one who still had hold of me was wearing just plain jeans and a black sweater. "Filthy blood," he muttered.

He brought up the stick and I wondered wildly what he was planning on doing with it. Horrors raced through my mind and I prayed he wouldn't attempt to gouge my eyes out with the thing. I couldn't help it, I screamed.

"_Silencio!_" My voice was gone. I tried screaming again, but no noise came. I tried to pull away when a jet of light lit up the area and I fell to the ground, in more pain than I'd ever experienced before. How were they doing that? What were they doing? They all held pieces of wood now, but hadn't touched me with them.

I couldn't explain what happened even if I tried. Jets of light shot from the pieces of wood at me. When they reached me, different things happened. Once I seized up and couldn't move my own body. Another time I was lifted into the air, suspended upside down by an invisible force. Mostly there was pain. Cuts, burns, and more pain.

I thought I was going to die. My clothing was torn to shreds by this point as the boys laughed and jeered at me. Where were the police and why hadn't they come yet? Surely by now Willow would have realized something was wrong when I hadn't shown up at her place? As if on cue, I heard the sirens.

"Fuck," growled one of the boys, "It's those muggle Aurors."

"Quick, let's get out of here," another agreed.

I panicked. I didn't want the bastards to get away. I didn't want them to ever have the opportunity to do this to another person. Desperately, I lunged across the frozen ground and grabbed hold of one of their long cloaks.

They spun around and I felt a squeezing sensation. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see or feel or anything. Was this dying? With a loud _crack!_ I found that I could breathe again. Gasping, I clutched at my throat. "Why did you bring her?" one demanded.

"I didn't! She had a hold of me!"

"We'll teach her not to touch us," he hissed. I felt cold rough hands on my throat. Thinking he meant to strangle me, I reached up to pull his hands off of me with what little strength I had. _Keep fighting_. But to my surprise and terror, he didn't throttle me. He took hold of my shirt and tore it wide open, exposing my white cotton bra to all of them.

A bark of laughter. But it wasn't evil laughter this time, it was friendly laughter, and it was in the distance, but not too far away. "Damn it," said the boy who now had his hands on my breasts.

"We have to get out of here, I think that's an Auror."

Suddenly the boys were gone. They just _disappeared_. I groaned and let myself relax. I could feel blood seeping out of me onto the dirt covered ground. Wait – dirt? My eyes rolled slowly to take in my surroundings. I wasn't in the alley anymore. I was in a place I didn't recognize at all. There were shops and streetlights not too far away, but I didn't see any street signs. The warm friendly laughter I heard before was closer.

I wanted to cry out for help but I was so afraid. Where was I? How did I get here? I never left the alley. I was positive that I never blacked out, I could remember everything with perfect clarity. When I attempted, and failed, to sit up, I let out a sharp cry of pain. Dear Lord, I was going to die. I was so weak and so tired and blood was draining out of me. I could feel it's sticky hotness pooling around my body.

"Who's there?" a voice called. My eyes fluttered closed. "Oh Merlin," a voice breathed. He was right over top of me now. I hoped he would kill me fast, I just wanted it to be over and I didn't want to be raped. "I need to get you to the hospital," strong arms lifted me so carefully, so gently, that I wanted to weep because I was so touched by his kindness.

"No," I argued, barely able to speak in more than a hoarse whisper, "not the hospital. Please," I begged. I knew it was stupid. I knew that I was dying, but a part of me was okay with that. I was in so much pain. The real reason I didn't want to go to the hospital is because that was right where the boys had jumped me. Practically right in front of the hospital. What if they were still there? What if they came at me again? Worse, what if they saw me brought in and knew I was there? I felt sick at the idea.

Then everything went black.

…..

"I _know_," a voice was saying angrily, "but what was I supposed to do, dad? She panicked when I said I would take her to the hospital. Yeah, I know. I had a Healer come here and they fixed her right up. She's sleeping now. Alright, I'll let you know. Bye." Was he on the phone? I recognized his voice, it was the boy who had rescued me.

I stretched, testing how I felt. Fine. Shocked, I came to the realization that I felt perfectly fine. I opened my eyes to find that I was in a room I didn't recognize at all. It was a bright sitting room and I was lying on the couch with a blanket draped over me. I was dressed in an over-sized gray t-shirt and sweatpants that were so baggy they would probably drop to my ankles if I stood up.

A boy was on his knees in front of a fireplace. I pulled myself up into a sitting position to get a better look around. There was no television, but there was a coffee table. I peeked at the magazines but didn't recognize any of the titles. _Witch Weekly_, _The Quibbler_, _Quaffle Keepers_.

"Um, Hello," I said tentatively. The boy started. He jumped to his feet and turned to face me with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back. He had untidy black hair, round rimmed glasses that were slightly lopsided at the moment, bright almond shaped green eyes, and he was built like a bloody greek god.

"How are you feeling?" he rushed to my side, his hands fluttering over me as if he could help in some way.

"Great, actually," I admitted shyly as I folded my hands in my lap. "Thank you for taking care of me. Is this your home?"

"My flat, yeah," he said quickly, "I have a roommate, but he's out of town right now. What's your name?"

"Leona," I told him, stretching out my hand. He shook it politely and I added, "Leona Sands."

"My name is Al," he replied. I waited for him to tell me his last name, but he didn't. Instead, he asked, "What happened to you anyway?"

"I was jumped," I said immediately, "There were three blokes who attacked me."

"Where's your wand?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, my what?"

"Your wand," he said with a frown, "you do have one, don't you? Or are you underage?"

Confused, I stammered, "Well, I am underage. I'm only seventeen."

At this, Al looked like he as the one who was confused. "You're not…are you a muggle?"

I panicked. That word! I screamed, scrambling back, away from him. My eyes searched the room again and this time I saw it. The long thin piece of wood lying on the table. I screamed again, "Get away from me! Leave me alone!"

Al obediently stepped away from me, looking shocked. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, "but what were you doing in Diagon Alley if you're a muggle?"

"I don't know what that means!" I cried, "Don't you people understand that? I don't know what a muggle is, I don't know what a Diagonal Alley is, and I just want to go home!"

"Calm down, Leona," Al's voice was soft and reassuring but did nothing to stop the panic that was overtaking every sense of my reasoning ability. My parents must be so scared by now. I had to get home to them.

Slowly, I asked, "Where are my clothes?"

"They were destroyed by the bastards who attacked you," said Al who was holding his hands up in surrender, "I didn't touch you, aside from lifting you off of the ground and bringing you here. I had a Healer-erm, a _doctor_, come here and, uh, fix you up."

Keeping my eyes on him the whole time, I got to my feet, holding onto the elastic band of the trousers I was wearing so they didn't slip down. "I'm leaving," I told him firmly.

"At least let me take you home," he insisted.

"So you can find out where I live? I don't think so," even as I said this, I silently cursed myself for having revealed my surname. Why had I been so stupid?

"I just want to make sure you're safe. Plus, you might be a long way from home."

"Where are we?" I asked as I moved so I was standing between him and the table where the thin piece of wood lay behind me.

"London," he said.

My insides squirmed. Yes, we were a good distance from my home. How had I gotten here? "I'll catch a train," I snapped.

"Without any money?"

"If you're so insistent on taking me home, then you can at least let me use your phone. So I can call my parents to come get me."

"I don't have a telephone."

"What do you mean you don't have a telephone? Have you been living under a rock? I don't believe this rubbish. You're lying. Everyone owns a phone! For goodness' sake, I just heard you talking on one."

"What? Oh! No, I was on the Floo Network."

"Don't insult my intelligence by making up words," I snapped, trying to be braver than I felt.

"I'm being honest, Leona. Please, I want to help."

"You've done enough," my body was trembling. I was so frightened of this boy I could hardly think straight. He must be in the same gang as the other boys. He used the same code word _muggle_ and had the same odd wooden device.

"Here, take some money for the train," he reached into his pocket and I flinched. He noticed. "I'm just getting money," he said firmly. He pulled a pouch from his pocket and I frowned. Who carried money in a pouch? He handed me more than enough for a train ride to Bristol.

With a curt nod, I pulled on my shoes, which were next to the sofa, and reached for my jacket before I noticed that it was torn up pretty bad. Al sighed and held out a sweater to me. I took it gratefully and left without looking back.

The whole train ride home I kept going over the night again and again in my mind but I still couldn't figure out how I managed to find myself nearly two hours from home. Every time a man spoke to me, I flinched. It looked like I was going to have some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after all.


	2. Run Away

**A/N: I wanted to get the second chapter up right away because this is REALLY where the story starts. I normally will not switch points of view often, but I really wanted to get Al's side of the story. His part is a bit random. Stream of consciousness kind of, but I liked it that way. What do you all think so far?**

**To clarify, the attackers did not rape Leona. They were going to, but took off before they could, because they heard someone (Albus) coming. **

**Hopefully my chapters will become longer as the story progresses, but I felt like I should leave this one right where I did. **

…**..**

As expected, my parents were in hysterics. At least I had had time to rehearse my story to myself on the train ride home. There were two police cars in my driveway when I arrived home. Upon entering my home, I found my mum sobbing on my dad's shoulder while dad looked simply stoic. "Hey," I said lamely.

Mum screamed and hurried to pull me into her arms while asking a million questions in a row. "Oh, Leona! Thank God! Are you hurt? Where were you? What happened? Why didn't you come home? Did you go to a party? Were you kidnapped? Did you get into trouble?"

"Stacie," my dad intervened, putting a hand on mum's shoulder, "let the girl breathe. I'm sure she'll tell all of us what happened."

Despite his calm demeanor, I could see the relief and joy on my dad's face that I had returned home. I gave him a sad smile and sat on the sofa between him and Mum. The police officers were hurrying to call in and say that I'd been found. Once they settled down and asked for a statement from me, I tried to rack my brain. Surely what happened to me couldn't be a single incident. There had to have been other girls reporting similar things.

Opting for the truth, I began to explain, "My friend Willow called me last night around midnight crying," I began, fidgeting a bit, feeling foolish now for sneaking out so late. "Her boyfriend broke up with her. I told her I would be right there," I shrugged innocently, "I pulled on my jacket and snuck out of the house. When I got the hospital I decided to take a short cut through that alley."

At this point, Mum released a sob and put her arm around me. "Go on," an officer urged.

"I was jumped by three boys. They asked me if I was a 'muggle.' I told them that I didn't know what a muggle was. They pulled out three sticks-"

Dad interrupted, sounding sick, "They _beat_ you?"

"No," I said, "Well, I'm actually not sure. The sticks weren't big. They were quite thin, made of wood, and only about a foot long. Each boy had one. They pointed them at me and different coloured beams of light shot out of them."

"The boys?"

"No, the sticks. Beams of light shot out of the sticks and hit me. When they hit me, different things happened. Cuts and bruises appeared out of nowhere on my body," I cringed as I recalled the pain, "burns on my arms and legs," I winced, my hands running over my body, "sometimes I couldn't move or speak. Not because I was afraid but because they'd done something to me where I wasn't in control of myself. At one point I found myself being dangled upside down by my ankle."

"One of the boys picked you up?"

"No, there was an invisible force holding me up. Around that time, they got scared because they heard sirens. They were probably ambulance sirens from the hospital, but the boys were worried it was the police, I think. They were going to run away. I didn't want them to get away with what they'd done to me, so I grabbed hold of one of them. Suddenly, I was in London. I never passed out, either. It was just, one moment I was in the alley by the hospital, and the next I was in London. The boys were mad that I was there. One grabbed my shirt and tore it open. I think they were going to rape me. But they heard people coming and scampered. A boy came to my rescue. He picked me up and said he would take me the hospital but I said no. I was afraid of going to the hospital because that's where the boys had jumped me. I was in so much pain and I'd lost so much blood. I was just confused and scared and didn't want to go anywhere near the hospital."

"What did the boy do then?" one officer asked.

"That was when I finally passed out. I woke up this morning on the boy's couch in his flat in London. He said that because I didn't want to go to a doctor, he had a doctor come there. He said the doctor fixed me up while I was passed out, and sure enough I felt fine this morning. I was also dressed in different clothes he said the doctor had put me in after tending to me. The boy offered to escort me home, but I didn't trust him. He called me the same word the other boys called me, 'muggle.' He had one of those weird pieces of wood, too. So he just gave me these clothes, money for the train, and I left. It was about a two hour train ride," I added.

"Do you, um, remember the boy's name?"

I thought for a moment, "Al," I recalled.

"Do you happen to remember a surname? Or perhaps the name of the apartment complex he lived in?"

"No, I was in such a hurry to get home that I didn't even look."

"Thank you, Leona, I think that's all we need for now. You should go on upstairs and rest while we talk with your parents."

"Okay, officer," as I got up, I caught the incredulous look on my parent's faces. I know that my story sounded impossible, but they would believe me, right?

When I got to the top of the stairs, I waited and listened, just out of sight from the people in the sitting room. "You don't believe her story, do you?" My mum asked.

"Of course not, Mrs. Sands. You did say that Leona was the middle child?"

"Yes, what are you suggesting?" Dad's voice had an angry edge.

"Well often times children in those circumstances will crave attention. In all reality, it sounds to me like she was on drugs of some kind. You heard her talking about the different colours she saw and the things that happened to her are impossible."

"Le wouldn't do drugs," Mum's defense of me didn't sound very convinced.

"Do you have a better explanation, Mrs. Sands?"

Silence. I sank down to the floor with tears in my eyes. Being attacked by three scary boys? No big deal. Waking up in a random bloke's flat with the suspicion that he might hurt me? I can take it. But hearing my parents discuss with police officers how they didn't believe me when I told the truth? _That _had me crying like a baby.

When I got to my bedroom, both of my sisters were there. My older sister, Elladora, and my younger sister, Gwendolyn, were sitting on my bed expectantly. "We heard what you told them," said El, "Now tell us the truth."

"That is the truth," I said in exasperation.

"I believe you," Gwen was ten years old. Her loyalty to me was unwavering and I appreciated that so much, but the belief of a ten year old girl wasn't very reassuring. Even if she was a bloody genius.

After a moment of hesitation, Ella said, "I believe you, too. You wouldn't lie to us. You really weren't doing drugs?"

"No," I said, "You can call Willow if you want. I was on my way to her house when I was jumped."

"Do you think those boys gave you drugs?" suggested Gwen unhelpfully.

"They didn't give me anything, I'm sure of that. Everything I said was real and actually happened." They nodded and hugged me.

"That Al bloke," said El, "sounds like quite the hero. Are you sure you don't fancy him even a little bit?"

I snorted, "I'm sure, El. He scared me to death. I honestly thought he was in on it. He called me the same weird word and he had a stick, too."

"Do you think he was in on it?"

"I honestly don't know. He seemed like a nice bloke, but it could have been a ploy. Ella, I'm afraid," I whispered, "I'm afraid of every bloke I talk to. I couldn't even look the police officers in the face. Dad tried to hug me but I just leaned more into Mum to avoid it. I don't mean to. I'm not trying to be afraid or flinch when someone of the opposite gender approaches me, it just happens. You should have seen me on the train. I was ridiculously jumpy."

"Well of course," said Gwen, whose light blue eyes were wide and analytical as always. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is real, you know. It happens to people, Leo." I didn't like it when people called me Leo, but I ignored it for now.

"I know and I think I have it. But if Mum and Dad don't believe me, how can I get any help?" Tears were still leaking out of my eyes as I thought of how skeptical Mum and Dad looked when I left the room.

"And how will they catch the creeps who did this?" Ella added.

….

Two days. That's how long I hid in my room, seeing only my family and Willow. I was so disgusted with my parents that I didn't want to see them. Whenever I did see them, they badgered me with questions about my 'drug abuse problem.'

I'd gone to the hospital, of course, they'd checked every inch of my body but no scars remained. This seemed to verify even more in my parent's minds that I'm a lying attention-seeking girl. At first it was a male doctor who wanted to examine me. After I had a panic attack (literally), they made sure to send in a female doctor when I calmed down. They also gave me a list of things that might help me to control my panic attacks.

Willow was a bit skeptical of my story at first, but to my immense relief she seemed to believe me quick enough. She even spent the last two nights at my house. Now, however, as I sat on my bed reading, everyone was at school or work. I brought my hand up to scratch my head and I heard the doorbell.

Nervously, I got off of my bed, smoothed down my skirt, and skipped down the stairs. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Dominique Weasley," said a feminine voice.

"And Ted Lupin," said a deeper male voice.

"I'm sorry, I don't recognize those names. Why are you here?" I called back. I peeked out the window and saw two people standing on my doorstep. The girl was thin, average height, with sleek blonde hair that looked a touch red in the sunlight. She was the kind of girl that made every other girl hate themselves just a bit because they could never be that pretty. The boy looked older than the girl, with light brown hair. He was tall, over six feet tall I would guess. He was also thin.

They were dressed very casually. Both wore jeans and light jackets. "We're here to ask you a few questions about the other night when you were attacked," called the girl; Dominique.

"Are you police officers? You're not wearing uniforms."

"We were afraid our uniforms would scare you," replied Ted, "we were told that you were skittish."

"Teddy!" scolded the girl.

"Well it's true," murmured Ted.

Timidly, I inched the door open. "Do you have any identification?"

"No," said the girl. I went to close the door but she put a hand on the door that held it open, "but we believe you. We read your report that you filed with the police and we believe you. We want to find who did this to you."

Slowly, I opened the door to allow them entrance. "No one else believed me," I said snidely, "my parents wanted to believe me, I think, but when they took me to the hospital to be checked over, there was no evidence of any injuries, and I should have had plenty of scars. But I know I didn't imagine it," I insisted.

I led them to the sitting room and we all took a seat. Belatedly I realized I should have offered them a beverage, "Would either of you like a cup of tea?"

"No, thank you," said Dominique.

"Yes, please," said Teddy. I nodded and went to the kitchen to put on a pot of tea.

When I return I asked, "Okay, so what do you want to know?"

"Well, you see, it's more what _you_ have to know. The boys who hurt you aren't normal boys," said Dominique. I could tell she was nervous.

"Of course they weren't normal," I snapped, "they were monsters. What they did to me was barbaric."

"Yes, but what the lovely Dom here means is that those boys aren't muggles."

Red warning flags went off in my head. Already on my feet, I backed into the wall behind me. My breathing became labored and my chest felt tight. Teddy reached a hand down, to help me I think, but I screamed. "Get away from me! Get out of my house!"

"Please, calm down," Dominique pleaded, "we didn't mean to scare you." As she spoke she reached into her pocket and withdrew a wooden stick.

"No!" I cried, louder now than before, "Leave me alone!"

"We want to help," Teddy urged. I ran.

I escaped out the back door and didn't stop running. Not until I had reached the park. It was such a public place. Even now there were parents with their children. Surely they wouldn't hurt me in public in front of so many people? I glanced around wildly but the mysterious duo didn't seem to have followed me. I didn't return home for hours. Thankfully my Mum had arrived home shortly after I left so she took the tea kettle off of the stove.

Late that night I couldn't sleep. I'd had persistent nightmares ever since that night and I had trouble sleeping because of them. As I crept quietly down the hall, I heard my parents talking. "We should take her tomorrow," Dad was saying.

"I just don't know," Mum argued.

"We've tried talking to her, she won't talk to us."

"I know, Dave, but really? The mental institution?"

"Something is wrong with her, Stacie! I know you don't want to see it or admit it, but today she left for hours with the kettle on! She could have burned down the house. When we asked why, she said she'd been running away from people who said the word 'muggle.' I love her just as much as you, she's my daughter, too, but we can't deal with this. She needs help."

"I suppose you're right. If they can help her, maybe it is the best choice."

I'd heard enough. I retreated to my room. Sitting on the edge of my bed I thought through my options. If I ran away everyone would know where to look for me. My parents knew all of my friends and family. Where could I go? That was the question, really. Because I wasn't going to stay here and be put on medication and be locked up with a bunch of nutters when I was telling the truth. I was leaving, I just didn't know where to go.

I had my bags packed before I decided. I was going to London to find Al. I was confident that once I was in the city I would be able to find the building he lived in with ease. As scared as I was of the bloke, accepting help from him was a lot less scary than the prospect of being locked up for the rest of my life. Maybe he could help me make sense of everything that was going on.

….

**ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER'S POINT OF VIEW**

I was at my parent's home in Godric's Hollow. I'd been there a lot the past few days. The girl who I found bleeding in Diagon Alley wouldn't get out of my head. I needed to make sure she was okay. I needed to make sure that the bastards who hurt her were caught and punished for their crimes. For that, I needed my father.

My father, Harry Potter, was the head of the Auror Office. It was his job to catch Dark Wizards. Because this case involved a muggle, he would also have to work with people in the muggle relations office. It hadn't taken my dad long to find the statement she had made with the muggle police. "Blimey," he had said, "the poor girl."

It had become a topic at family dinner. Everyone made comments like, "Well after we talk with her, we'll have to Obliviate her, right?" and "Do you think the same wizards will go after her again?"

Finally, after two days of searching, my dad had located Leona Sands. Even though I was just in Auror Training, I had wanted to go. Dad had discouraged this, of course, afraid that my presence would upset the girl as she had obviously been frightened of me before.

In the end it was decided that Teddy Lupin, who was like a brother to me, would go since he was a fully trained Auror. My cousin, Dom, would go with him as she worked in muggle relations at the Ministry of Magic and would be able to offer Teddy a lot of help in dealing with muggles.

They'd returned unsuccessful and my dad was beyond frustrated. "We're making a lot of mistakes with this," he had said, "we don't want to traumatize the girl further but it's imperative that we talk with her. She'll have to be told everything. Then, hopefully, she'll cooperate and we can Obliviate it from her memory."

That was a few hours ago. Now I was sitting outside in the garden. It was cold outside but I didn't care. This case was really bothering me because it was so personal. My dad appeared beside me and sat next to me with a sigh. "You alright, Al?"

"No," I told him honestly. I was looking down at my hands which were in my lap. "She looked at me with such fear, Dad," I whispered. "Like she thought I was going to hurt her," honestly, she had hurt me more than I cared to admit. No one had ever looked at me like that before and in that moment I realized how I must look to her.

I was tall, standing right at six foot tall, with broad shoulders, plenty of muscle from all the years of playing Quidditch, and I had the same attributes as the boys who had hurt her. I had a wand, which was the weapon of choice they'd used on her, and they must have called her a muggle because when I said that word she had freaked out.

Did I look like a monster to her? I opened my hands, palms up, and stared at them with intensity. Did she think these hands, always so gentle with everything I did, would ever harm her? Something about that moment, about that look on her face, made me want to protect her. I'd never felt that before, either. The strong urge to protect someone other than my family.

Mum always told me how much I was like my dad and I was starting to see it the older I got. The selflessness, the bravery, the sincere desire to do the right thing. Something about that girl made me want to be the one to protect her. To prove to her that these hands were the hands of a good, kind wizard. Not the Dark kind she had met.

"It bothers me," I continued, "when you talk about Obliviating her memory. I want her to remember me," I said fiercely, "I want her to remember that I saved her. I want to be the one to talk with her, Dad. I need to be. I know you and Mum think that I fancy her, and maybe I did feel something special about her, I don't know. What I do know is that I want to be involved in this."

Dad clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Then I'll make sure that you are. First thing tomorrow, I'll give you her address and you can go talk with her."

"Thank you," I said. Dad got up and left me alone with my thoughts. My mind went back to that night. I'd just come out of my Uncle George's joke shop. We'd all stayed late, well after closing time, several of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and myself. I decided to leave because it was late and I had training early in the morning.

As I had stepped onto the street, Rose called after me, "You're such a party pooper, Albus!" I laughed at her comment and continued on my way. I heard the familiar sounds of Disapparition but it didn't bother me; it was a near constant sound in Diagon Alley. Then I heard the small, feeble, pained sound coming from the side of the street.

When I glanced over, toward Knockturn Alley, I saw her. I rushed to her, had a short exchange in which she begged me not to take her to the hospital and then she fainted. Dad was furious at me because I hadn't taken her to the hospital anyway, but something told me she would never trust me if I didn't respect her odd request and I wanted her trust.

I Apparated her directly into my flat and cast a few quick spells to stop the bleeding. Not wanting to do anything further, I contacted St. Mungo's and they'd sent over a Healer who had the girl fixed up almost instantly. I gave the Healer some of my clothes and let her dress the unconscious girl. After the Healer left, I made a makeshift bed on the floor beside the sofa. I slept there all night just in case the girl woke up.

When she finally did wake up, I heard her name for the first time. Leona. I didn't say anything, of course, but I noticed. Her name meant 'lion.' It was fitting. She was brave and fierce. Despite the fact that I'd scared her, she looked like she was ready to attack me if I tried anything.

The only reason I gave her money and let her leave without too much of a fuss is because I knew I would see her again. She'd given me her surname and I was a wizard. When my dad let me read her statement to the muggle police, I'd been so relieved that she hadn't been raped. I was uncertain when I found her. She didn't have a shirt and there were grimy hand prints on her white bra, but apparently that was as far as they'd gotten. I wondered if they'd heard me coming up the street and that was why they left before raping her.

I stood and brushed the dirt off of my trousers. Satisfied that I would see her again the following morning, I Apparated to my flat without saying goodbye to my family. When I arrived, the first thing I did was take off my shoes and throw them into the corner of my bedroom. For two blokes, Scorpius and I kept this place pretty clean most of the time.

Honestly, I just wanted to sleep now. I flopped back onto my bed, knowing it was late. The knock on the door startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone. With a smirk I wondered if my mum came after me because I left without hugging her. Mum was a stickler for hugs. Granted, most of my family was very fierce about that. After nearly having lost everyone in the Second Wizarding War they didn't take anything for granted.

I opened the front door wide, expecting my mum or maybe Rose, but I was shocked when I registered that the girl in front of me had a head full of brunette hair. I loved brown hair. Nobody in my family except my Aunt Hermione had brown hair. Black, red, and blonde were the only shades that existed for Weasley's and Potter's. Leona's hair was a gorgeous shade of brown. Like those caramel coffee drinks I liked to get from the muggle café down the road from my flat.

Her eyes were the exact same colour as her hair and when she lifted them to look at me, I found myself momentarily speechless. Merlin, maybe Mum was right and I did fancy her. "Can I come in?" she asked.

I moved aside, allowing her entrance, and asked, "What brought you here?"

"My parents didn't believe me about what happened to me," she said. I noticed that she was standing in a tense position, with her arms crossed defensively in front of herself. The urge to comfort her rose up in me and I pushed it aside.

"I was just going to get myself a bowl of ice cream," I said casually, "would you like to join me?"

Leona pursed her lips and nodded. I went to the kitchen and started to make ice cream sundaes as I pushed aside all of the things I wanted to say to her. Like what the hell was she doing here at nearly 3 o'clock in the morning? Hadn't she learned her lesson about wandering out on her own in the middle of the night? But, even more pressing, was _how the hell did she find my flat_? I lived in a wizarding apartment complex that was supposed to be invisible to muggles.

…**..**

**A/N: What will happen next?!**


	3. Flat Mate

**A/N: It's been a while, but here, FINALLY, is chapter three! I'm really excited about this story, like all of my stories, I just get distracted by each of them in turn. Plus, the more reviews I get for a story the more inclined I am to update that one before I update the others. **

**Since this is basically still the beginning of this story be sure to let me know if you give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down! I have an intricate plot planned for this one, it won't all be this fluffy, I assure you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

…**.**

**LEONA'S POV**

"Whipped cream?"

"Yes, please."

"And a cherry?"

"Do you even have to ask?" I was surprised at how easy it was to be around him. I don't know if it was because he was the one who saved me or if because, possibly, he might be the only person who believed me, but either way, I had the compelling urge to trust him.

He slid the dish of ice cream to me along the counter and I reached out my hand to stop it from going over the edge. "Spoons are in that drawer behind you," he motioned to it and I turned to get each of us a spoon.

"Well," I said as we sat side by side on barstools at the counter in his tiny kitchen, "are you going to tell me the same thing everyone else has told me? That I was either high on drugs or mentally disturbed? Or possibly both?"

"No," he said it immediately but what made me suspicious was the way his eyebrows pulled together and he looked down at his ice cream.

"Why not?" I tried to sound casual but I was practically vibrating with excitement. Finally! Someone who didn't think that something was wrong with me!

"Because I believe you."

"Other people have said that, too," I told him with a sigh, "but I can tell they don't mean it. My sisters, my best friend, those two strangers who came to my house."

"I mean it. I know that what you said actually happened. I'm the one who rescued you, remember?"

"Then tell me, Al, how did it happen? The things that happened to me are impossible. You must know that."

"Not impossible, just improbable. What are the chances of a group of muggle-hating wizards running into you in a dark alley on a random fall night? Almost none."

I flinched when he said the word that I hated hearing; _muggle_ but my attention was almost instantly diverted when he said the word 'wizards.' "Excuse me, but what did you just say?"

"I said that the blokes who attacked you are wizards. The sticks that they used to hurt you? Those were wands. That's why I have one. I'm a wizard, too, but I'm a good one."

"You expect me to believe that you can...can do magic? And that you have a magic wand?" Okay, obviously, Al is a nutter. At this point I should probably run screaming from the flat.

"Tell me what else could possibly make sense? You ask me to believe something that sounds impossible to you. I believe you, you should believe me." Damn, the boy had a point.

"Prove it," the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I knew that in order to prove it he would probably have to use his wand and that scared the shit out of me. But I needed to know. I needed to know that I wasn't crazy. I needed to know that I could trust Al.

He very slowly extracted his wand from his pocket and I knew he was making his movements so deliberate because I was so skittish. I appreciated his effort. "Alright then. Let's start with something simple."

I scrunched my nose in amusement as he cleared his throat and brought his wand up. I put a big spoonful of ice cream in my mouth, licking the spoon when suddenly it didn't taste like a spoon anymore. I yanked it out of my mouth to find that I was holding a piece of licorice.

My eyes widened as I gazed from the licorice in my hand to the boy who sat in front of me with a silly smirk on his face. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," he looked like he was barely containing laughter.

"No, seriously. They must have been trick spoons or something."

"How about this?" I watched without blinking as he twirled his wand around, a jet of yellow light shot from it, hit the chair in the living room, and before my eyes it morphed into a table.

"Magic," I breathed in awe.

"Pretty cool, huh?" his self-satisfied tone made me roll my eyes. As impossible as it seemed, it was real. He was telling the truth. The logic and facts were undeniable by this point. Most people probably would have been screaming or running and the thought did cross my mind. But what would that accomplish?

This…this _wizard_ was my one and only ally. "I guess," I gave him a timid smile, swirled around the melted remnants of my ice cream, and rubbed my slim stomach ruefully, "That was delicious, by the way, thank you."

"No problem," he hopped up, tossed his wand onto the counter, took my bowl and dropped it into the sink. "Seeing as how it's so late, would you like to stay here?" He eyed my bag meaningful.

"That would be welcome," I tried to sound casual, but failed. Grumbling, I admitted, "I ran away from home and don't exactly have anywhere else to go. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if I could stay until I found somewhere else."

"No," he said immediately.

Shocked, it took me a moment before I started to ramble, "Of course, I mean, what was I thinking? You don't even know me. You don't owe me anything. I shouldn't have asked. You've already done enough. Thanks again, Al, for saving me, and for the ice cream, I'll just be on my way..."

He was laughing. The stupid git was laughing at me as I clambered off of the stool and reached for my bag. "Leona, I said 'no' because I don't want you to just stay until you find somewhere else. I want you to stay with me as an actual flatmate. Scorpius, the bloke who lives here with me, is away for work and won't be back for a while. Once he returns, we can work something out. Maybe move into a flat with a third bedroom..."

The idea of living with any male figure other than Albus had me shaking where I stood. It was hard enough to walk by a guy or sit by one on the bus. On the train here, I had a panic attack when a man politely tried to start a conversation with me and had to hide in the loo until I calmed down.

He must have seen the look of panic that shot through me because he was quickly backtracking, "Or we can work something else out. Who knows? Maybe by the time he returns he'll be ready to take the next step with Rose and move in with her."

"We'll worry about that later," the moment the words were out of my mouth I was yawning. Al frowned as if he hadn't meant to keep me up so late. He beckoned for me to follow him down the hall and I followed. I might not trust anyone at the moment, especially men, but I _had _to trust Al. He saved me, he believed me, and he offered me the most logical reason behind my attack; if _magic_ could be considered logical.

"This is Scorpius's room, but the sheets are clean and he keeps the place pretty tidy," Albus used his wand to turn on the lights and that was the first time I noticed that there weren't light bulbs in the place. The sources of light in his flat were all fire; candles, torches, fireplaces, and lanterns.

"It's lovely, thank you," I said quietly, feeling truly uncomfortable for the first time that evening.

"My room is right across the hall. If you need anything that's where I'll be for the rest of the night. I, uh, have work tomorrow so if I'm not here when you wake up, just know that I'll be back in the afternoon."

"Is that Rose?" I pointed to a picture on the nightstand. She was very beautiful. Her hair was long, red, and curly. But not the frizzy kind of curls, the spiral curls that most girls would kill to have naturally. As if responding to my question, the girl in the photograph winked and _blew me a kiss_. I let out a startled yelp and jumped back.

"Magic," said Al simply, "and yes, that's Rose; my cousin and Scorpius's girlfriend."

"You can make your pictures _move_?" I asked, my voice sounding just a little bit higher than normal.

"Muggles can do the same thing with their technology, we just have a simpler way of doing it. You have to develop the film in a certain potion and-"

"Potions and magic and…and…damn, maybe my parents are right and something really is mentally wrong with me. Maybe I should have stayed at home and let them chuck me into an asylum."

"An asylum?" Al sounded pretty pissed off and I didn't exactly blame him. "I wouldn't have let them do that, don't worry! You're not crazy just because you know about magic. I'll prove it to you some more if you'd like. On my next day off I'll take you to visit my family or maybe we could go to Hogsmeade…"

"Woah, slow down there wizard-boy," I said while holding up my hands. "I don't even know your surname."

With a smirk Al crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. "My name is Albus Severus Potter. I find it ironic that you had no qualms with moving in with a stranger but traveling with one is a crazy idea."

I couldn't help but scowl at him. "Albus? I like it."

"It means 'white,'" he told me softly as he took a step closer to me. Part of me wanted to back-up as he approached but the other part had me rooted to the spot. "I want you to know that you can trust me. In this world, the one you never knew existed, the secret world of witches and wizards, there is both Dark and Light. There are evil wizards and good ones, just like there are good and bad people in your world. Don't judge all of us because of the actions of a few Dark Wizards. We are going to catch those bastards and put them in prison. I'm a _good_ wizard, Leona. I am on the side of the Light."

I believed him. Again. What the hell was it about him that I couldn't help but take him at his word? Shakily I managed a nod. "Why do you think I came here? You won't hurt me. You believe me. But I should probably warn you that I might have a bit of, um, PTSD now."

Albus furrowed his brow as if the term was unfamiliar to him. "That syndrome where you have mental scars because of something bad that happened to you? What exactly does that mean?"

"It means that I now have regular panic attacks when a male gets too close to me, I hyperventilate when someone says the word…uh…the 'm' word and I don't mean 'magic.' Also, whenever I see a wand I run in the other direction. Fast."

"Let's see. I'm a male, in case that escaped your notice, who is standing very close to you and you are acting perfectly normal. You only flinched when I said the word 'muggle' and your only reaction to seeing my wand was to widen those pretty brown eyes. Care to explain how that fits in with your PTSD?"

"You're different," I said with a shrug. "I think it's because you're the lucky bloke who saved me. I'm not afraid of you. Just every other person on this planet with a Y chromosome."

"We'll have to talk more about this later. We both need to get some sleep," he looked like he was still considering my words as he turned his back to me and strode out of the room. "Put your pajamas on and tell me when you're decent. I'll come back in to turn off the lights."

"My bag is still in the sitting room…" Before I even finished my sentence, Albus had raised his wand and without warning my bag came zooming into the room. Magic half-amused me and half-scared me. When Al wielded his magic I was more intrigued than anything. My bag landed on the bed with a soft thump and all of my belongings magically came out and went to proper places; the empty drawers of Scorpius's dresser were replaced with my things, as was the empty room in his closet. My toiletries went out the door and turned a corner into what I assumed was the lavatory and my other random accessories and nick-knacks laid themselves out on the dresser.

"Do you need anything? It looked like you packed in a hurry so if you forgot a toothbrush or anything, just let me know."

I snorted. "What would you do? Conjure one up out of thin air?"

"Well, it would look that way to you, but according to Gamp's second law of elemental Transfiguration, I would actually be transfiguring the atoms in the air to change their molecular structure-" I boldly put my finger over his lips to shut him up.

"I was just being sarcastic. You step outside the door for just a second and I'll change my clothes, then you can come back in and extinguish these torches, okay? Blimey, what do you think this apartment complex is, a castle? Haven't wizard's ever heard of a new little invention called electricity?"

"You'll learn," he told me with an affection chuckle that grated slightly on my nerves. He made me feel like I was a child. Like I didn't know anything about the world I lived in. And maybe, for the first seventeen years of my life, I really didn't.

He closed the door behind him and as quick as I could I began pulling off my clothes and pulling on my comforting pink cotton pajama bottoms and long sleeved matching pink shirt. "Alright!" I called to him. When he opened the door I was already crawling into bed. While yawning I pulled my hair out of the pony tail it was in and flung my hair tie onto the bedside table in front of the picture of Rose, the pretty redhead, who was still awkwardly winking at me.

"Goodnight, Leona, sleep well," Albus said quietly.

"Goodnight, Albus," I replied. I was asleep before he had closed the door.

….

"You weren't yanking my wand, she really is here!" a distinctly feminine voice woke me the next morning. My first reaction was to pull my pillow over my head, wondering if one of my sisters had a friend over. But when I inhaled and the scent that met my nostrils was not the usual scent of my spring scented laundry soap, I sat bolt upright to find a familiar blonde girl gazing at me in surprise.

It was Dominique Weasley; the girl who had come to my house to question me about the attack. Albus was standing behind her scowling, and I could tell just from his stance that he hadn't wanted her to come barging into my room like that. "Way to startle her, Dom," he growled.

Some weird jealous part of me groaned in disappointment. Of course Al would have a girlfriend. Not just any girlfriend, no, but Dominique was obviously the fucking _queen_ of girlfriends. I didn't think I'd ever seen a girl as beautiful as her. Just by looking at her I felt like I wanted to hide under the covers.

"Oh, she's fine! Hi, Leona, do you remember me?" she was beaming at me.

I cleared my throat. "Um, yes, aren't you the girl who came by my house claiming to be the authorities?"

She laughed brightly and I wanted to crawl under a rock. Even her laugh was pretty. "Teddy actually is wizard authorities. He's our version of a please-men."

"Police man, Dom," Albus corrected quietly.

"I knew that," she bristled.

"Yeah, sure, don't worry, I won't tell your boss. You're the one who's supposed to be the muggle relations specialist."

"It's not like it really matters. Okay, so, Leona, are you ready to talk about what happened?" Dominique sat down on the edge of the bed I was in and leaned toward me eagerly.

"Out!" yelled Albus. "She doesn't need for you to pounce on her the moment she's awake! For Merlin's sake, Dom, have a heart. We'll both be late for work if you try to get answers out of her right now anyway."

I sent Albus a thankful look and he winked at me while Dominique pouted. "Alright, but this isn't over, Al. I know your dad is letting you handle this, but if you need me…"

"If I need you, then I'm in pretty bad shape," he quipped. She punched his arm hard enough to make him grunt. "Leona, in case you need another formal introduction, this is Dominique Weasley, my cousin, she works in muggle relations, that's why she went with Teddy to your house. She's supposed to be an expert on muggle life."

Relief surged through me so hard that I was embarrassed by it. She was just his cousin. Not his girlfriend. I was tempted to get out of bed and do a happy dance. But just because Dominique wasn't his girlfriend didn't mean that some other girl wasn't. Why was I even thinking about this right now?

"What time will you be back?" I asked to change the subject.

"Probably around four in the afternoon."

"What is it you do?"

"I'm an Auror. Like Teddy. We're sort of wizard policemen as Dom put it. It's my job to catch bad wizards. And, actually, my dad is the head of the entire Auror department. I got express permission from him last night to take care of your case myself, so I don't have much work to do at the office. You're my primary case right now."

"My case?" I asked in confusion.

"Wizards have our own laws and judicial systems. What those wizards did to you was a crime. I'll need to hear your testimony, ask you questions about it, just that sort of thing. Then, hopefully, we'll catch them and punish them," Al's bright green eyes softened as he said this. He must've known how uncomfortable that sounded to me. I didn't want to have to relive that night again. I did it often enough in my nightmares.

Instead, I gave him a shrug. "Okay, we can talk when you get home."

He smiled at me. "You're welcome to do whatever you like. I'm afraid I don't have a telly, but there are some wizard books that might amuse you and I have plenty of food in the kitchen."

As he spoke he pulled an odd cloak over his shoulders and Dominique gave me a friendly smile. "If you need anything at all, here are two telephone numbers you can call. Not many of us have telephones, but luckily Rose does. The top number is for our cousin, Rose, that's her picture there, and the number below that is her mum's number. Rose's mum, Hermione, works in Magical Law Enforcement. She's super nice and both of her parents are muggles so she'll be more than happy to help you."

"Thanks," I muttered, "but how can I call them? Al doesn't have a telephone."

"Already taken care of," Dominique extracted a sleek silver cellphone from her pocket and pressed it into my hand. "Now this is mine, so I'll be coming back this evening to get it, but feel free to use it in the meantime. I have unlimited minutes so it won't cost me any money." It didn't surprise me that she had an unlimited plan. With how much she liked to talk, it probably saved her millions.

"Thank you," I told her sincerely.

"Just…do me a favor and don't get into too much trouble?" his tone was teasing but I could tell there was a serious edge to it. I rolled my eyes and gave him a pointed look. He held up his hands in his defense. "I'm just saying, you're in London and it can be a dangerous city. I'd really prefer it if you stayed in this flat."

"I have absolutely no desire to face people today. I will probably just lounge around in my nightclothes and eat more ice cream."

Albus smiled at me. "We will be excellent flat mates, Leona, I can already tell."


End file.
